Moving to Silicon Valley -> What can my wife do? (San Jose: co-op, job market)

[SVCho]

Hi everyone,

I've received a job offer as an Engineer at a large tech company and me and my wife are therefore moving to Silicon Valley.
Previously, she was studying Electrical Engineering in Europe but is about to leave without a degree to stay with me, she's finished around half of the coursework for the Bachelor's degree.
Both of us are permanent residents.

Now, my question is, what can my wife do? Her GPA was around 3.0 and I think with that it is difficult to transfer. She also doesn't want to continue with EE but is interested in Software Engineering or Accounting. Can anyone give advice with regard to these two disciplines in the bay area? I guess she cannot immediately continue with studying for a degree because it'll take a year for her to become a CA resident for tuition purposes. Can she find work for one year in either of those areas without having a degree yet, for example as an assistant accountant/book keeper or simple programmer? She does have some experience in both. Craigslist does show some positions without need for experience / degrees, but I wonder whether those are "real" or are flooded with experienced candidates anyway.

Thanks!

[ccm123]

Software Engineering is a more in demand skill here in the Bay Area, because of the concentration of technology companies. Accounting is obviously needed also.

If she can demonstrate the skills for the temporary positions, she should be able to get hired. She should have some other skills to differentiate herself from the other candidates, which would help.

Of course, there is competition for jobs here in the Bay Area, but the job market at the current moment is pretty good (unemployment rates have been on the decline in recent months).

[sonarrat]

They call it the Silicon Valley because of the remarkable concentration of high-tech corporations and start-ups, but we've never actually been a one-industry kind of place. There's all kinds of work here in finance, medicine, science/research, skilled trades, marketing, law, media.. all of the things you expect in a big city and some of the ones you don't. Even in the downturn, our unemployment was low compared to other parts of California and certain positions remained in high demand. There are a lot of criticisms you can level at San Jose, but the depth and breadth of the job market is second to none.

If she wants to get into software engineering, I can only encourage it. My generation got spooked by the outsourcing craze and shied away from CS. In reality, the only thing that went away was the low-grade code monkey jobs. The development tools that are available now make a lot of those jobs trivially simple, such that highly trained and educated employees are not needed. Even if their overseas employees are brilliant, though - and there's no shortage of talented CS folks in India -dealing with the time zone differences alone makes dealing with deadlines and high-level collaboration a non-starter. CS is still a very stable and lucrative field here and will remain so for some time.

[SVCho]

Thanks for your answers.
I know that there are many job opportunities for Software Engineering and have interviewed with companies such as Google and Facebook myself. What I noticed is that the interviews that I got were all through either recommendation or campus recruitment. I sent applications to a couple of companies (AMD, IBM) through their online postings and didn't hear back at all (although I would say I look pretty decent on paper). That's why I am a little concerned about her getting a job in that area.

What are your opinions in starting to study Programming or something related at a CC such as De Anza and then possibly transfer? Can she get some internships or part time working opportunities? I think I read that there are no longer any co-op programs there.

Also, would it help if she got some Java certifications?

[ccm123]

Most companies here in the Valley will only respond to your resume/job application sent online if the skills are a close match for the posted position. But, don't fret, there are recruiters, personal networks and other ways to find job opportunities here.

Any type of computer science and engineering classes which contribute to a valid degree or in-demand certification will be helpful here to secure a job. Silicon Valley is a knowledge economy and any gained knowledge is helpful.